BREAKDOWN
by Kurosu
Summary: AU, sci-fi drama. Year 2570. Jovian Virus. Martian Massacre. Tension b/t Earth & Mars escalates. 10 years later. Three RIGEL-beta pilots in conflict. A top secret assignment on the other side of the red planet.


**NON-SERIOUS NOTE -** This will be a sci-fi, mecha series with drama -- using anime elements from the _Gundam_ series, _Neon Genesis Evangelion_, _Martian Successor Nadesico_, _Brain Power'd_, _ Magid Knight Rayearth_, _Zone of the Enders_, and the likes -- so it's an obvious alternate universe. Possible out of character-ness, but I will try to keep the characters who they are.  
  
**SEMI-SERIOUS NOTE -** I'm sure people are DYING to know what couples will be in here, ne? And this time I can actually TELL you! A definite MimAto since I'm missing those. TaKari is so cute. Some KenYako. A JyOraChi -- I mean, a Jyou-Sora-Taichi triangle. (TaiOra's cool, though I've always like JyOra too.) Those are what I've planned so far. Oh, and with my limited _Digimon_ knowledge, I might have cameos again... like this one with _NGEvangelion_'s Mistao Katsuragi, who's wicked cool (with Kaji)!  
  
**SERIOUS NOTE -** As serious as this note gets... I just enjoy writing about _Digimon_ characters.  
  
**VERY SERIOUS NOTE** - Enjoy.  
  
  
  
The year was 2570 when an unknown force beyond the planet Jupiter attacked the Inner Space Alliance, which consisted of the nations of Earth, colonies on the Moon and Mars, and even the colonies lingering in space. The brunt of the attack hit Mars the hardest, whether it was at a convenient position in its orbit or it was originally targeted. The destruction of colony structures across the western hemisphere of Mars could not compare to the piles of corpses that whithered within the ruins. Death by weaponry and machines was far less painful to those who succumbed to the viral spread by the enemy.  
  
The Alliance should have anticipated something similar to occur from their investigations a year ago on Jupiter when a small team of scientist, studying the life conditions on the large planet for future colonization, were found dead due to the same virus found in their systems. Keeping the situation under control and away from public view, a secret organization was created to investigate the incident and to research on the virus to find a cure. No sooner when their work would pay off, the attack on Mars racked fear into the hearts of children as they watched in horror the bodies of their parents withering in agony at the mercy of the mysterious infection that seemed to affect adults, from the late-twenties to about early fifties.  
  
Reinforcements from Earth arrived too late to save the population of Mars, which left the many children orphans, and the incident came to be known as the 'Martian Massacre' by the virus code named 'Jovian' -- after the discovery on Jupiter that had been withheld by the government.  
  
This tragedy marked the beginning of another restless era for space, where the future would be place in the hands of orphans.  
  
  
_ 'To be human... is to suffer.  
_  
_ 'It is written since the beginning..._  
  
_ '... since the birth of one's existence._  
  
_ 'To dream... to search for a purpose..._  
  
_ 'The voices of sorrow and anguish echoes in the depths of the universe._  
  
_ 'And the hands of time repeats a history of death and destruction._  
  
_ 'To suffer... is to be human._  
  
_'That... is my dream.'_  
  
  
  
**B R E A K D O W N**  
  
written by K-chan  
  
  
** Chapter One: Transfer**  
  
  
  
Ten years later, after the Martian Massacre that destroyed half the city, Tharsis was thriving with life once again, along with many others across the western hemisphere. Just east of the city, across the lushiness of green life to a barren land of rocks and mountains, a new generation had grown up and accepted their destinies. To fight for a future of their planet, they would sacrifice themselves, their own happiness to ensure that they would no longer see their own kind live with unpredictable fear.  
  
These young men and women, recruited at a young age and trained all their lives, have become the Inner Space Alliance's (ISA) special force to combat future attacks of the unknown. Most of these soldiers were orphans, with no families, no place to return to, who have given themselves a purpose to live once more. Each has a story to tell, and with one, he will become a legend...  
  
  
An explosion behind the giant robot elicitated a series of curses from its blue-eyed pilot, "DAMMIT! When did the ALTAIR prototypes get so powerful?!" With a calm and calculating expression, he moved swiftly to the right to avoid the assault of bullets and fired at the aerial robots charging at him. His targets were soon destroyed, but in place of the fallen machines, several more appeared and forced him to retreat. With a glance to the left, he fired another shot, blasting the ALTAIR that was moving in on a wounded comrade.  
  
He maneuvered himself through the waves of bullets, taking out several of the enemy robots in close combat, and managed to stay alive. He reached the fallen robot and pulled it towards the protective boulder. "Takenouchi?!" he called in an authoritative tone, linking directly to the other pilot through the computers, "State your condition!"  
  
"I'm fine," the female groaned, "I was a little careless this time." Despite the serious look he wore, she managed a thankful smile and brushed some strand of orange bangs from her eyes. She appeared unharmed, but her robot was another matter. She checked the systems and found the enemy's last blast had malfunctioned her range weapons. "Damn," she grumbled, reassessing her possibilities, "I totally suck at hand-to-hand fighting."  
  
"Just stay here then," he advised coldly, about to return to battle.  
  
She grabbed his arm and smiled, but he remained unaffected, "Thank you, Ishida-senpai." She let him go, but at that very second, three ALTAIRs appeared over them, catching them off guard. Panic and fear were in Sora's eyes, but Yamato's instincts kicked in as he lashed out the blade of his rifle, slicing one in half. Before the other two could fire, they suddenly exploded.  
  
The debris of metal rained on the two soldiers as a third one appeared on their monitors. The young man was smiling smuggly at his triumphant entrance, "Save your butt, Ishida."  
  
"Shut up, Yagami," Yamato ordered as he stood up and fired at the enemy behind the proud yet oblivious brunette, "And we're even."  
  
"You three..." came an unknown, shaky voice from their communications link, "QUIT THE SMALL TALK AND GET BACK TO FIGHTING! YOU'RE WASTING TIME!" The image of a purple-haired woman appeared on their monitors with an expression that could kill a person instantly. If the situation was grave, then Taichi would have humored her about her facial features taking on that of an enraged bull, but even if the tease was made during a light-hearted moment, she would throttled the young man's neck anyway for the remark.  
  
"YES, MA'AM!" they saluted and returned to the battlefield. Yamato and Taichi, with full usage of their weapons, went head on into the fight, mainly covering for Sora who lagged behind purposely to scanned the mountainside. She zoomed the view closer to the mountain top, where a giant cannon was powering up energy and several smaller cannons were stationed around it for more fire power. The computer beeped, pinpointing on the far left cannon, and Sora shouted to her partners, "Weakness in the left flank!"  
  
"GOTCHA!" the men responded, and Yamato followed up with, "A left roundabout, Yagami! I'll take it from above!"  
  
Taichi acknowledged his plan willingly, but he also muttered something about being a show off. The blonde ignored the remarked and sped straight ahead to their goal while Taichi parted from him at full speed. All cannons were firing at Yamato while Taichi seized the opportunity to destroy the left cannons and followed it up with a sharp right turn to take out the right area. Sora moved into the same section to help Taichi destroy the rest of the stationary weapons, but they were soon plagued with the ALTAIRs.  
  
Yamato had enough trouble with dodging the attacks from the main, gigantic cannon, but the new of ALTAIRs was adding to it. A beam nicked the right side of his robot, but he didn't let it affect him as he rushed up to a careless ALTAIR and ripped the protective armor from its body. He used it as a a shield as he dived downward to the cannon that was now shooting an array of bullets, followed by some missles. The bullets lodged into the thick, metal shield as he evaded the missles. His descent picked up a great amount of force, and he threw away the protection and began blasting at the cannon like an enraged beast.  
  
After putting the cannon permanently out of commission, his robot crashed into the pile of the destruction and created a bigger mess. The remaining ALTAIRs stopped, hovering in the air, while Taichi and Sora ceased their fighting with the former slicing his opponent in half.  
  
"Test complete."  
  
  
  
After the successful completion of their test, the three pilots of the RIGELs (beta) were returning to headquarters, Noctan Military Base, about a hundred kilometers from Tharsis City. The final test of their abilities as pilots had proved their years of hard training payed off. With the common link of being recruited at the early age of ten and working their way up to their present-day ranks of lieutenants, their personalities were unique to each of them -- from the brash and carefree of Taichi to the cold and silent of Yamato.  
  
These two were men of opposite polarities, different fighting styles, and usually would pit against each other at the most trivialist things. While they stood at either ends, the patient yet uncertain Sora was spaced in between them. Although she was a weak fighter of the three, she proved herself many times in strategy and pulled them out of several perilous situations, but sometimes her patience did wear thin, like that very moment the trio stood in the elevator ascending to their superior's office.  
  
"Would someone say SOMETHING?" she said calmly, trying to ease the silent tension. With eyes closed, Yamato was leaning against the wall, lost in his own world, while Taichi was on the opposite wall with his brown eyes fixated on the dull ceiling.  
  
"Sure," the brunette said, and the compartment was silent again. Sora glared at him, and after a while, he looked at her, and seeing her frown, he grinned. "Let's go celebrate!" he suggested.  
  
"Don't jump to conclusions," Yamato snorted, "We don't know if we passed YET. The decision lies with the MMB (Martian Military Board), not Major Katsuragi."  
  
"Dammit, Ishida!" Taichi growled, challenging the blonde, "Do you always have to be so negative about everything?!"  
  
Yamato opened his eyes and stared coldly at the young man, "I'm realistic."  
  
"Realistic my ass!"  
  
Sora sighed, "Here we go again."  
  
Luckily for the female pilot, the elevator stopped and opened to their floor. The argument paused as the three pairs of eyes caught the soldiers waiting for the lift. After glancing at the symbol on the men's jackets, Yamato's and Taichi's eyes narrowed at them. They slowly stepped out of the compartment, keeping a cautious eye on their smirking faces, and Sora followed her comrades quietly, ignoring the leering men.  
  
Ever since the Martian Massacre, the relationship between Earth and Mars had escalated from a power struggle within the ISA to the resentment of the Martian population against the self-proclaimed power that was Earth. As years passed, Mars was left to rebuild itself from ruins although Earth kept its hold over the red planet through political influences and military strength. Despite the common goal to fend off alien forces from beyond, the tension between the two planets was brewing up, and if the past wasn't put aside, a possible war would break out.  
  
One of the burly men grabbed Sora by the arm, "Hey, sweetie. Why don't ja join us instead of those losers?" The apparent leader of the group grinned, and the men behind him all laughed as Sora tried to pry herself away from him. She would even gladly gnaw off her own arm, but Taichi's fist to her holder's face relieved her of that thought.  
  
"Keep your hands offa her, you bastard!" the brunette growled, standing protectively in front of Sora, and Yamato joined him. No matter how much the two pilots didn't like the other, they were still Martians and would defend one another against the Earthian bullies.  
  
Unfazed by Taichi's punch, the leader smirked only to receive more menacing glares from the two pilots. "You Martians are weak," he said, "You wouldn't have lived this long if it weren't for us. You should show some gratitude."  
  
"I'll show you some gratitude," Taichi gritted with fists ready to fly again, "by kicking your asses back to Earth!" He threw another punch, but the man stopped him by crushing his fists in his large hands. Taichi tried to flinch in pain, but every word that he had said was try. Because of the difference in gravity between the two planets, Earthians were stronger, and their sense of superiority drew from that.  
  
Seeing his comrade in trouble, Yamato didn't hesitate to attack, but the other men grabbed him and started to beat him up while their leader dealt with the loud brunette. Sora begged them to stop fighting, but none would listen. That was until an authoritative voice boomed over them, "STOP IT THIS INSTANT!" They immediately halted and gathered their composure, throwing the beatened, Martian pilots aside, as the purple-haired woman stood before them and wasn't too happy with the sight.  
  
"What the hell is going on here?!" she asked.  
  
"Nothin' much, Major," replied the leader, adjusting his uniform from the small brawl, "Just teachin' these soldiers how to fend for themselves."  
  
"If you're through, then I suggest that you get going," she advised. The group just smirked and walked off, exchanging 'this isn't over yet' expressions with Taichi and Yamato, who were climbing to their feet. When the men disappeared into the elevator, she muttered a series of obscene insults. She then looked at the three pilots, seeing two of them with bloody faces, and sighed, "You should know better than to pick fights with Earthians."  
  
"They started it!" Taichi blurted it out.  
  
"It doesn't matter," the woman told him, "Right now, we can't do whatever we want. The ESF (Earth Security Force) are keeping a close eye on us." She shook her head and waved them off, "Get yourselves cleaned up and see me in my office." They saluted her, and she walked off.  
  
While the male pilots went to treat their injuries and Sora was not needed, she went to catch up to their superior, "Major Katsuragi!" The woman stopped and waited for her.  
  
"Misato's fine, remember?" she smiled.  
  
"Right."  
  
The two began to walk towards Misato's office in silence. Sora really wanted to know what the results to the test were, but she knew it wasn't her place to ask at that moment. The suspense was just killing her. She finally decided to ask, opening her mouth in preparation, but before the words could leave and be vocalized, Misato had opened the door to her office, "Don't worry, the future will look brighter from this moment on. Just be patient."  
  
  
Twenty minutes later, Misato had her three best RIGEL pilots standing before her desk. She was sitting down as she gave an approval nod and looked over the documents in her hand. "The MMB has carefully examined your records, and I am happy to say you have passed." Taichi was smiling smuggly and gave an all-knowing glance to a Yamato, who could care less, and Sora was just relieved at the news, but Misato was not through with them.  
  
"The next information will come to a surprise to you, but don't worry, it's not bad news. After seeing your potential as pilots, the MMB has decided to transfer the three of you to a different division."  
  
"What?!" Taichi and Sora cried out, and the latter added, "But Misato, we've been under your supervision for so long! You're practically the only family we've got!"  
  
"I know this'll be hard on you, but I also know that the three of you have potential of doing greater things in life and remaining here will not develop that potential." She stood up and walked over to them, "I don't want to be the one stop you from becoming people who could be the ones to make Mars a better place for all of us." The two hesitated a bit and then nodded in understanding.  
  
"Major," Yamato finally spoke up about the situation, "about my brother..."  
  
"He's been taken care of," Misato nodded sympathetically, "I've already had the papers cleared for his transfer with you. In two days, all of you will be taken to the Solis Edom Military base in the Aeria Region."  
  
"Woah," Taichi awed, "that's like on the other side of the planet."  
  
"What will we be doing there?" the sensible Sora inquired.  
  
"You'll find out when you get there," Misato smiled enigmatically and placed an index finger to her lips, indicating that it was top secret.  
  



End file.
